1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of headgear, and to the particular field of helmets.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many fires require firemen to enter a burning building. Many modern fires generate a great deal of smoke and vision-impairing debris due to the materials found in many buildings. As is well known, smoke inhalation is just as dangerous, if not more so, than the other dangers associated with fires. Accordingly, most, if not all, firefighters wear helmets and other forms of headgear when entering a building during a fire emergency.
While the helmets are indispensable and life-preserving, they sometimes may hinder the wearer in some respects. A helmet may reduce the wearer""s vision somewhat, if for no other reason than the wearer""s peripheral vision may be reduced or impaired by the helmet. Even if the helmet has a large face-covering portion, most people have a peripheral vision capability that will be reduced or impaired by even large face-covering portions. Thus, for example, if visibility is reduced due to smoke or the like, the wearer will want as much of his or her vision capability as possible and their peripheral vision will certainly help the wearer orient himself or herself. Any reduction in the peripheral vision by a helmet may not be desirable if the wearer must orient himself or herself in a very low-visibility environment. Often, a building that is being entered by firefighters has the electricity cut off and may not have any means for providing artificial light. This lack of artificial light exacerbates the visibility reduction already caused by smoke and the like.
Therefore, there is a need for a fireman""s helmet that will enhance the safety of the wearer.
More specifically, when visibility is severely reduced or nearly eliminated by smoke or the like, the firefighter may become disoriented and lose his or her way. This may cause the firefighter to move in the wrong direction, which may be extremely dangerous. However, without clear visibility, this situation is very likely, especially when the firefighter may be concentrating on things other than his or her direction of movement or orientation. This situation is exacerbated if the firefighter""s helmet reduces their ability to visually orient themselves.
Therefore, there is a need for a fireman""s helmet that will permit the wearer to orient himself or herself even in vision-impairing environmental conditions.
More specifically, there is a need for a fireman""s helmet that will permit the wearer to determine directions even if visibility is reduced or eliminated by environmental conditions.
However, in order to provide directional information to a helmet wearer, the information must be provided in a manner that will not interfere with the wearer""s vision or distract them in any way. Distraction or vision interference may be more than merely undesirable, especially in extremely dangerous situations. However, directional information is very important, and thus a balance must be made regarding the provision of directional information and the provision of such information in a manner that may distract the helmet wearer or even impair his or her vision.
Therefore, there is a need for a fireman""s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer""s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not interfere with the wearer""s concentration or vision.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a fireman""s helmet that will enhance the safety of the wearer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman""s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer""s vision is impaired by environmental conditions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman""s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer""s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not distract the wearer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fireman""s helmet that can provide direction to the wearer even if the wearer""s vision is impaired by environmental conditions but will not interfere with the wearer""s concentration or vision.
These, and other, objects are achieved by a fireman""s helmet that includes a compass mounted inside the helmet. The compass is located where the wearer can easily see the compass when necessary but is located where it will not interfere with the wearer""s vision or distract the wearer and the wearer must exercise a conscious effort to view the compass. In this manner, the compass will be readily visible to the wearer when desired, but will not be located to interfere with the wearer""s vision and will be located so the wearer must exercise a conscious effort to view the compass. Thus, the compass will not distract the wearer.